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Abstractions blog
neural networks
Researchers Gain New Understanding From Simple AI
Language processing programs are notoriously hard to interpret, but smaller versions can provide important insights into how they work.
synthetic biology
Life With Longer Genetic Codes Seems Possible — but Less Likely
Life could use a more expansive genetic code in theory, but new work shows that improving on three-letter codons would be a challenge.
![Illustration in which the particles of the Standard Model are arranged as sections of a circle, but the W boson is too big and doesn’t fit.]](https://d2r55xnwy6nx47.cloudfront.net/uploads/2022/04/W-Boson_520x292-520x292.jpg)
particle physics
Newly Measured Particle Seems Heavy Enough to Break Known Physics
A new analysis of W bosons suggests these particles are significantly heavier than predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.
biophysics
Mitochondria Double as Tiny Lenses in the Eye
The optical properties of mitochondrial bundles in the retina may improve how efficiently the eye captures light.
geometry
Father-Son Team Solves Geometry Problem With Infinite Folds
The result could help researchers answer a larger question about flattening objects from the fourth dimension to the third dimension.
Abel Prize
Dennis Sullivan, Uniter of Topology and Chaos, Wins the Abel Prize
The American mathematician invented entire new ways to understand shapes and spaces.
particle physics
A New Tool for Finding Dark Matter Digs Up Nothing
Physicists are devising clever new ways to exploit the extreme sensitivity of gravitational wave detectors like LIGO. But so far, they’ve seen no signs of exotica.
atomic physics
An Antimatter Experiment Shows Surprises Near Absolute Zero
An experiment conducted on hybrid matter-antimatter atoms has defied researchers’ expectations.
number theory
Math’s ‘Oldest Problem Ever’ Gets a New Answer
A new proof significantly strengthens a decades-old result about the ubiquity of ways to represent whole numbers as sums of unit fractions.